SPECIAL COMMUNICATION
A Cluster-Analytic Investigation of MMPI Profiles of Serious Male and Female Juvenile Offenders

https://doi.org/10.1097/01.CHI.0000046877.27264.F6Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

Objective

To use cluster analysis to identify psychological profiles and related mental health symptoms among male and female juvenile offenders.

Method

Juvenile offenders (N =141) incarcerated in the California Youth Authority completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2).

Results

MMPI cluster analysis revealed four distinct profiles: two for male and two for female juvenile offenders. Among males, we identified one Normative cluster with no clinically elevated scores. A second male cluster, labeled Disorganized, exhibited clinical elevations on scales 8 (Schizophrenia), 6 (Paranoia), 4 (Psychopathic Deviate), and 7 (Psychasthenia). Among females, two clinically elevated profiles emerged. One Impulsive-Antisocial cluster consisted of clinical elevations on scale 4 (Psychopathic Deviate), which has been consistently associated with delinquent and antisocial behavior. The second cluster, labeled Irritable-Isolated, produced elevations on MMPI scales 4 (Psychopathic Deviate), 8 (Schizophrenia), 6 (Paranoia), and 7 (Psychasthenia). There were no significant sex, ethnicity, or offense differences across clusters, but the clusters exhibit distinct psychiatric profiles (MMPI) and mental health symptoms (MAYSI-2).

Conclusions

The findings indicate that not only do female offenders have more acute mental health symptoms and psychological disturbances than male offenders, they exhibit qualitatively distinct psychiatric profiles. Results reinforce the need for assessment of mental health symptoms for male and female juvenile offenders as well as sex-appropriate treatments. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2003, 42(7):770-777.

Section snippets

Participants

Data for this study come from 141 assessments of male (n = 97) and female (n = 44) juvenile offenders incarcerated in the California Youth Authority (CYA). Participants ranged from 14 to 22 years of age (mean = 17.43, SD = 1.60). With respect to ethnicity among the male sample, 24% were African American, 45% were Hispanic, 24% were white, and 7% described themselves as other. For the female sample, 27% were African American, 23% were Hispanic, 34% were white, and 16% described themselves as

Male Cluster Membership and Cluster Profiles

For male participants, Ward's method indicated that a two-cluster solution provided the most clinically meaningful description of the data. Means and standard deviations of the validity and clinical scales are presented in Table 1. After identifying the two clusters, we obtained information from the MMPI literature that describes characteristics of adolescents and adults with similar profile configurations (Archer, 1987; Friedman et al., 1989; Graham, 1987; Williams, 1986).

Cluster 1—Normative.

DISCUSSION

The rates of mental illness among incarcerated youths are substantially higher than the rates in the general adolescent population (Kazdin, 2000). As observed in the present study, there are indeed adolescents within the juvenile justice system who suffer from psychological disturbances. Results of MMPI cluster analysis revealed two distinct profiles for male offenders and two others for female juvenile offenders. Our findings indicate that not only do males and females exhibit distinct MMPI

REFERENCES (34)

  • DF Capwell

    Personality patterns of adolescent girls, II: delinquents and non-delinquents

    J Appl Psychol

    (1945)
  • Cauffman E (2000), Identifying youth at risk: the mental health of juvenile offenders. Paper presented at the annual...
  • M Chesney-Lind et al.

    Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice

    (1992)
  • RC Colligan et al.

    The MMPI: A Contemporary Normative Study

    (1983)
  • WG Dahlstrom et al.

    An MMPI Handbook, Vol I: Clinical Interpretation

    (1972)
  • AF Friedman et al.

    Psychological Assessment With the MMPI

    (1989)
  • JR Graham

    The MMPI: A Practical Guide

    (1987)
  • Cited by (41)

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Preparation of this manuscript was supported by funding to Dr. Cauffman from the Stanford Center on Adolescence and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. Dr. Cauffman thanks the California Youth Authority, in particular Saeed Behshid and Rudy Haapanen, for their assistance with this study.

    View full text